Hello again folks. Hope everyone had an outstanding weekend. Before I begin with this week's "Wrestling Cypher" piece, let me just say I recently picked up the new, and MUCH anticipated and overdue Best Of Sting DVD and, although it definitely reminded me why he's one of my top five wrestlers of all-time, it was a slight letdown. The reason being that there were only FOUR pay per view matches. They should've included his matches with the likes of Vader, The Great Muta, Hogan (from SuperBrawl VIII), and Luger. These were rather hot matches that would've been greatly watched and appreciated to further highlight the in ring high-level abilities of Steve "Sting" Borden. Hopefully when they do decide to drop the bio of Sting, they'll include those matches on there as well on the bonus features portion. Just my three cents. Let's go with this week's wrestling minute, and this one could cause some WWE anarchy.
I recently stumbled across a blog that pointed out how former WWE wrestler, and champion, CM Punk and the relationship he had with WWE was continuing to dissolve and how bridges were continuing to burn, only not on his part. The blog was excellently pointing out how Punk's passion for the business was snuffed out due to sloppy booking, false promises, and injuries he had acquired due to overworking him when he desperately needed time off. However, the WWE continues to bury him on television and label him as a "quitter" and that he "walked out on the fans". Oh, how marvelous the WWE makes everyone look like crap except themselves. Punk's issues are very much more of a problem than people realize, and continues to make the "industry leader" look like insensitive, irresponsible assholes. Allow me to break it down.
Just like the blog pointed out, there was an earlier incident in 2003 when "Stone Cold" Steve Austin "took his ball and went home", or in other words walked out, when he was booked in an angle to job to the monster rookie (at the time) Brock Lesnar. He has stated that, although he didn't have a big problem jobbing to Lesnar (that's losing for those not in the wrestling lingo know), the build was not properly set up and it would make his character look weak and normal, when his character was ANYTHING but that. He subsequently took his own sabbatical and went home to Texas for a while. While this wasn't the only reason he went home, it was the paramount of some understated frustrations of the "rattlesnake". Although he looks back on it now and regrets his decision to do that, many would totally and completely understand his thought process at the time in doing so. Phil Brooks had a passion for this business unlike many we had ever seen, and was an understated genius at that. He had been fighting the system from day one of his arrival. It's been clearly known that Vince and WWE didn't want him because of his lack of size and physique, not to mention his straight-edge lifestyle and outspoken approach was quite different for them as well. He managed to overcome every single obstacle placed in front of him and became a record-breaking WWE Champion, and arguably the hardest working in-ring performer in the locker room (sans the likes of Bryan and Ziggler).
Let's fast forward to Royal Rumble 2014. An already mentally and physically worn out Punk, who was told some weeks earlier that he would win the Rumble match, was tossed out so that the returning forty-five year old grandfather Batista would win instead. It's well documented how livid the fans were with booking at that event, to the point where the fans "hijacked" the event as well as the next night's Raw. It made complete and logical sense to them that Daniel Bryan, in spite of losing a damn good match earlier that night to Bray Wyatt, enter as number thirty 30, come in, clean house and win the Rumble, or at the least have Punk win after entering at number one. Neither of those things happened. The outcry of the fans was incredible, but the anger backstage was even more hostile from one particular "Voice of the Voiceless." Punk reportedly told Vince and Hunter that he was "going home". He hasn't been on WWE television since, although fans day in and day out chant his name throughout every venue there is. While many of us miss Punk and his controversial, yet superbly talented, in-ring abilities, there's an underlying factor here that must be covered.
The blogger wrote specifically about Punk and how overworked he was and how it led to his eventual burnout. There are quite a few other CM Punks in the locker room as well, in terms of those performing three hundred days out of a year with current or lingering injuries. John Cena being a big time case. He's the biggest star of the company and has been for nearly ten years. He took the place of Austin and The Rock in terms of megastar, box office attraction for this crappy, watered-down era known as the "PG Era". Cena, for all intents and purposes, is a workaholic in and out of the ring. He's dealing with neck issues as well as back and knee problems, but is expected to perform at high levels almost all year long with no time off unless its for surgery or death in family. However, here's where the irony comes in. Dolph Ziggler is one of the company's most talented, and overall most athletic, in-ring performers who, even when he was a heel, had a very significant fan base because of how sincerely great of a competitor he was, and still is. He had finally hit the big mark of winning the World Heavyweight Title (you know, back when there were still two belts). Unfortunately, he suffered a pretty nasty concussion and had to drop the title to then-WWE star Alberto Del Rio, and hasn't been pushed back ingot he main event since. Also, the current situation with Daniel Bryan. He's clearly the company's most popular overall act, even though the company wants to continue to have him appear as the number two guy in the company behind Cena in terms of audience draw and financial popularity. Bryan has been out for almost the entire year due to a career-threatening neck injury. His neck problems had been built up since his indie days and his high level in-ring working style, but it had been aggravated even more by the constant travel schedule with very little days off.
What exactly is my point? I'll be happy to tell you. Even the most prized workaholic needs time to heal and rest from any type of lingering issues so that they can perform at the highest caliber rate possible for all the fans who pay to see them. The problem is, Vince doesn't believe in rest. By Jim Ross' own words, Vince once said to him "Sleep is our enemy", which means Vince is very OCD when it comes to his product. He believes all his performers should perform at one hundred percent in spite of injuries or issues that could shorten their careers or even their lives if not careful. Traditional sports have off seasons, even regular entertainers have down periods. Vince doesn't believe in that. Punk had reportedly asked for time off quite a few times, and was only allowed that period between Wrestlemania XXVIX and the Money In The Bank pay-per-view three months later. While that would be normally seen as long enough time by many wrestling purists, it's not nearly long enough on a human level. Punk at the time was thirty-four, which is still fairly young by all merits but he was clearly not at the level he should've ben at due to the wear and tear of the business. All that he asked was to main event Wrestlemania, but due to the company riding Cena's nuts, he was never given that top billing, in spite of holding the title for over four hundred twenty days. The only reason to be in the business is to be (ahem) the best in the world. This was a moniker that Punk held very dear to him because of in-ring ability and work ethic. When injuries and declining health come crashing down, on top of being booked as second or third best, that moniker has little significance anymore. My guess is, if he felt he couldn't sincerely be the best at what he could do, there was no reason to perform and rob the people or dumb himself down for that matter.
When you have a new car and it only has ten thousand miles on it, most of us tend to like to run it up and down the highway like there's no tomorrow. The car holds good gas, the engine is on point, and no internal problems. The car is like that! As time and years go along, the car has hit over one hundred thousand miles on it. There are more and more problems with the car, and it doesn't hold gas as greatly as it used to. This means the car has to get better taken care of and maintained, plus it may just be time for a new car because it's no longer the prized value it was. However, to some people, it still can be, but the maintenance must be kept up completely if they want it to perform even half as nice as it did when they drove off the lot with it. It's the same thing with wrestlers. These are phenomenal athletes, but they're also human. As time, years, and injuries start to collect, it's time to have better maintenance. This includes rest, any necessary rehab or surgeries, and just time to refuel, if you will. Even Cena has thought about having some adequate time off, but here comes Vince again with this whole, "But John, the company really needs you" bullshit, and he acquiesces to the VKM philosophy of "sleep is your enemy". We really don't want to see these exceptional athletes and workers in disabled heaps once they reach elderly ages. What is it going to take for Vince to see that this extremely rigorous road schedule is walking the lines of inhumane? For that matter, when will talent have the balls to say to Vince or Hunter or Stephanie, "I need some time off to heal so that I can give you and the fans my best" before it's too late.
There's the argument that could be made saying that back in the sixties and seventies, people like Ric Flair were wrestling all year round, all over the world. Even as recently as the Bret Hart reign era, he had admitted that he didn't have a day off in six years. That's beyond ridiculous. I have to wonder if the unbelievable workload over the years was a factor in his unfortunate stroke that he ultimately recovered from successfully, along with the stress of losing his baby brother Owen, as well as his brother-in-law Davey Boy Smith, and friends such as Mr. Perfect and Rick Rude, and the whole "Montreal Screw Job" fiasco. It was stupid then, and it still is now. These wrestlers aren't robots, they're human beings.
I applaud Punk for saying enough was enough and deciding to leave. Although we miss him as an in ring performer, Punk needed to heal, spiritually (although he's a widely-known Atheist), mentally, and definitely physically. In public appearances that he has had since his departure, he appears a LOT more happier, starting to get back in good shape, and looks overall very relaxed and at peace. WWE or not, wrestling business or not, that's something EVERYONE should want to have for themselves in this industry or in any walk of life: peace. Maybe if more people took the route that Punk did, Vince will start opening his eyes more towards being a human being instead of a boss who's hell bent on financial gain than the safety and long term well being of his talent.
That's all for now. Trust me, there's a lot more I could say about this subject. I'll end it, however, on that note. Stay good, and trust me, if there are things that are grinding my gears about WWE or wrestling as a whole, you'll definitely know about it. Based upon some of the stuff I'm reading on dirt sheets already, this is already looking to be an interesting week, and not all of it in a good way either. See you guys and gals next week!
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